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Ghosting clients and scope creep are the two biggest risks to your income. Learn how milestones and escrow accounts solve both.
Every freelancer has a story. You deliver the final files, send the invoice, and then... silence. The client who was responding in 5 minutes suddenly vanishes.
According to a 2025 study by the Freelancers Union, 58% of freelancers have experienced non-payment or severely late payment at least once. For those billing $50-100/hour, a single ghosted invoice can mean losing $2,000-$5,000.
Let's break down what a single ghosted $3,000 invoice actually costs:
| Loss Type | Amount |
|---|---|
| Direct income lost | $3,000 |
| Hours spent chasing payment (~10hrs) | $500-1,000 |
| Legal consultation | $300-500 |
| Emotional stress + lost productivity | Immeasurable |
| Total real cost | $3,800-4,500 |
And that doesn't include the opportunity cost β the new clients you could have been serving instead of chasing payments.
Contracts are important, but enforcing them is expensive. If a client owes you $3,000, are you going to spend $5,000 on a lawyer? Bad clients know this. They know the economics of litigation are in their favor.
Even small claims court costs $50-200 in filing fees, requires you to appear in person, and can take 3-6 months to resolve.
Escrow changes the game by introducing a neutral third party β in KAZI's case, a secure holding vault with milestone-based payment protection, powered by Paystack.
What makes KAZI's escrow unique is the automatic approval. If a client doesn't respond within the inspection window, funds release automatically. No more ghosting power plays.
For larger projects, break payments into milestones:
| Milestone | Amount | Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit | 30% | Project kickoff |
| First draft | 30% | Draft delivery |
| Final delivery | 40% | Final approval |
This protects both sides β the client doesn't pay 100% upfront, and you don't work without security.
Escrow doesn't just protect your money; it filters your clients. A client who refuses to fund an escrow milestone was likely planning to pay late, or not at all.
Requiring upfront funding is the ultimate "serious client" filter.
| Platform | Fee | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Upwork | 10-20% | Service fee on earnings |
| Freelancer.com | 3% or $3 | Per milestone |
| Escrow.com | 0.89-3.25% | Based on amount |
| KAZI | 2.5% | Platform + Paystack processing |
KAZI's 2.5% total fee is competitive with dedicated escrow services and dramatically cheaper than marketplace fees.
Stop working on promises. Start working on funded milestones.
Ready to protect your income? Try KAZI Escrow β free to start, no credit card required.
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Every experienced freelancer has a getting-burned story. Escrow and milestone payments are how you make sure the next big project is not another one β here is exactly how they work.
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